Study on the Viscoelasticity of Polyelectrolyte Solutions Based on Ionic Liquid Science

Abstract

Polyelectrolytes are a class of ion-containing polymers whose solution properties are largely governed by electrostatic repulsion between dissociated ionic groups along the chain. Unlike electrically neutral polymers, the conformation and dynamics of polyelectrolytes are influenced by multiple factors and length scales, rendering their physics more complex. Consequently, many fundamental questions remain unresolved even for simple linear polyelectrolyte chains. To advance the understanding of such systems, we have recently incorporated two recent scientific developments: ionic liquid science and diffusing wave spectroscopy microrheology. In this award lecture article, we highlight our recent key findings on the charge screening effect on the conformation and dynamics of polyelectrolytes in ion concentrated solutions (Section 3), the effect of solvent dielectric constant on the charge fraction of polyelectrolytes in solution (Section 4), and the entanglement dynamics of polyelectrolytes in the semidilute regime (Section 5).